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Students Donate Prom Dresses, Food and Decorations for YWCA event

HIGH POINT, N.C., April 26, 2011 ? Prom season is an important time for any high school student. That?s why two organizations at High Point University have banded together to ensure that it?s a memorable experience for some local high school teenagers.

Members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. at HPU recently hosted a prom dress drive where more than 80 dresses were collected to donate to the YWCA. The prom dress drive falls in line with the sorority?s mission to enhance the lives of girls and women in the community.

?We wanted to host a program that would involve HPU students in enhancing the self-esteem of teens because the university has taught us how important it is to give back,? says Lauren Williams, a member of the sorority. ?To many teenagers, prom is one of the most memorable moments of their lives.?

The dresses were collected for the YWCA?s Adolescent Parenting Program Prom, which will be held April 30. HPU?s Black Cultural Awareness organization also will be providing the food and decorations for the prom.

?This prom is held to give the girls in this YWCA program a night to feel special and a chance to celebrate,? says Joy Ledbetter, coordinator of the Adolescent Parenting Program. ?HPU?s involvement has had a marvelous impact in more ways than one. It?s allowed these young girls at the YWCA to see that giving selflessly does exist, and it?s allowed them to see that the HPU students are succeeding in college and taking themselves to the next level. It?s a blessing for everyone involved.?

At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people. HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with over 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students from 51 countries and 46 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report at No. 3 among Regional Colleges in the South. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 7 percent among ?America?s Best Colleges.? Parade Magazine lists HPU in the top 25 private schools in the nation. The university offers 50 undergraduate majors, 42 undergraduate minors and 14 graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at highpoint.edu.